1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to fishing, specifically to the use of reflection, coloration, and motion to attract and catch fish with fishing lures, by using detachable sequins and latex rubber materials, and beads.
2. Description of Prior Art
From the very first fish hook made from bone or shell and a stone for weight, there has been a steady improvement and search to attract and catch fish. The patent to D'Ivernois, U.S. Pat. No. 497,962, May 23, 1893, gives basis for a simple lead head jig. The lead head jig is still a viable selection as a fish lure. They are painted a myriad of colors. Even the best of paint is subject to chipping off as the jigs sometimes hit tree limbs and rocks when casting. Paint is softened and affected when touched by often mounted soft plastic or rubber baits and their oils. Paint is not a coloration that is easily changed, other than repainting. Sylvester, U.S. Pat. No. 2,875,543, Mar. 3, 1959, suggested a plastic decorative reflective material, that Barnes, U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,888, Apr. 29, 1980, applied to a fish lure as an adhesive tape in an effort to add coloration and reflection to his lure. More recently Berry, U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,930, Jan. 7, 1992, applied reflective adhesive tape to a bendable lure. Several products on the market today, suggest the use of lure tape as an alternative or adjunct to paint. Lure eyes in lure tape form are also available. Thus color can be changed on a lure easier than paint, but still the change is not easy when fishing. The angler must cut the material precisely with scissors to cover the lure body, so the change in tape color is usually not done while fishing but at home. Often the tapes don't adhere well to the lure surface because the adhesive fails at the edges. If the lure body has curvature, as many do have to simulate fish, the tape adhesive doesn't contact the lure surface intimately, and the tape doesn't follow the surface contour smoothly, resulting in wrinkles. Sometimes lure tapes are also affected by soft plastic bait oils and they can be affected by heat from the sun, especially on metal lures. They can leave a sticky adhesive residue on the lure surface that attracts dirt. Occasionally they bond a little too well and can pull original paint from the older lures. The lure tape, once used and removed, is usually not able to be reapplied and is thus discarded. The lure tapes are sold in many colors and reflective patterns, but are usually sold in large sheets making it difficult and expensive to sample different patterns.
Lure eyes for soft plastic lures were suggested by Southerland, U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,007, May 11, 1993 and Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,569, Nov. 22, 1988. Both patents showed removable eyes mounted on a shank or pin that passed through the soft plastic lure body. These devices were not free to move as they were attached rigidly to the lure body. They could be lost from the lure if they were dislodged from the pin during a fish strike or removal from snags. Mangle, U.S. Pat. No. 2,251,593, Aug. 5, 1941, used a wire to attach reflective beads to a spoon type lure to assimilate eyes.
Newman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,945, Jul. 19, 1977, used concave discs on the fishing line to cause the fishing lure to have erratic and random motion. As the lure was drawn through the water, the eccentrically mounted discs deflected the water to cause erratic motion in the trailing lure. The discs, being in a position between the line and lure, caused this apparatus to have many points of potential failure for a large fish to break and bend once the fish was hooked.
Glansandro Terreni, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,086, Jun. 27, 1972, introduced a fishing lure with interchangeable parts. Two detachable spoon baits projected from the sides of the lure and rather than being stationary, rotated about the long axis of the lure by a propeller blade to which they were attached by connectors.
Bazinet, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,226, Feb. 18, 1992, showed a fishing lure with rotational lateral fins that aided movement when the lure was jigged vertically up and down.
Several lures have utilized accessories that grossly resemble the present invention but closer inspection shows they have significant differences. Fury Mgf. Co., in 1952, made a lure named "Charmer" that utilized a wire through the lure body to which 2 treble hooks were attached on each side. Makinen Tackle Co., in 1945, used a wire that extended from each side of it's "Wonderlure" to attach spinner blades. One of the earliest lures to use side wires and ornamentation was Harry Comstock U.S. Pat. No. 271,424, 1883, in his flying heigramite lure.
There has been a tendency in the prior art to make fishing lures more attractive to fish and anglers by adding reflective coloration, eyes, beads, discs, and interchangeable parts. With the tendency toward more catch and release programs in lakes, big fish are becoming harder to catch due to the evolution of the smarter fish. Some fish have seen most everything that is cast at them once before. Therefore, to be able to quickly create new, and sometimes only subtle color combination and appearance changes in lures on the spot quickly, will translate to fishing success. The sequin mounting stud allows these quick changes.